1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packing device suitably adapted for filling and packing solid articles such as pieces of ham into plastic film bags or the like, wherein a unit of piled bags is used, each having a mouth or opening at one end and being sealed at the other end, such that the plastic bags are sequentially picked up and automatically opened at the mouth to be filled with ham or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A packing device as described above has already been proposed by the same applicant. According to these prior art techniques, the uppermost plastic bag of the unit of piled bags is picked up by an adhesive tape which is used as a pickup means. Thereafter, the picked up plastic bag is transferred to a position where it is inflated with air. The mouth of the plastic bag is thus opened. These prior art techniques have an advantage in that the plastic bag may be sequentially picked up and automatically opened at the mouth. However, when each plastic bag is picked up from the unit of piled bags, the underlying plastic bag may be picked up therewith, resulting in a pick up error. Furthermore, when the plastic bag is inflated with air to open it at the mouth, the mouth may not be successfully opened, and the plastic bag may be inadvertently separated (that is, blown away) from the pick up means. This prevents filling of the plastic bag with ham or the like. In addition, the overall packing device is bulky and complex in structure.